Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="coinman0456, post: 1038236, member: 18177"]How many are familiar with this name ? Probably not as many that should be given his important contributions to the field of Numismatics and literary works. Recently I offered for sale at auction and Original, 1885 copy of the " Visitor's Guide to the U.S. Mint , Philadelphia. I had purchased this copy sometime back in the late 80's in an Auction Style format and won the item with a bid of $ 265.00 . It is a tremendous piece of Mint History.  This specific copy , is the full Deluxe version, which highlights over 1900 Fine engravings. The more common 1885 copies list only 1600 Fine engravings. A.M. Smith was one of America's early Coin Dealers and one of the first to write and publish Numismatic references .  Acquiring copies of all his works, has been a challenge for many notable numismatists. Collecting an example of each title, at this time is probably an almost impossible task . It is a challenge to understand the titles of his publications as often one will find different titles appear on the cover, from the title on the spine or inside covers. Such is the case with my personal copy . The spine ( in Gilt ) reads " Visitors Guide to the U.S. Mint " , while the cover reads " Visitor's guide to the U.S. Mint Philadelphia and the inside cover reads " " Visitor's Guide and History of the United States Mint, Philadelphia, PA. subtitled " Current Coins of the World "Colonial and Continental Currency, Ancient Greece and Rome. The book elaborately illustrates each mint department, the business routine, all Scientific and Mechanical operations in every stage of the work, the wonderful machinery, rare Coins, Relics, and curios in the cabinet. What sets my copy apart from those usually found, is the Binding, which is the " Full Russian Leather " example with the additional total of engravings, which are usually noted as 1600 and not 1900 . I decided to test the " Waters" so to speak, by recently offering this for sale through the EBAY auction venue. To somewhat of a surprise, I had not a single offer. I can only surmise that with the availability of the Internet, collectors disregard the importance of having a copy in a personal library.  I find that sad . I have also attempted to sell other great Numismatic references , such as Crosby's " Early Coins of America " reprint 1965 by the Token & Medal Society , and a copy of Von Bergen's " Rare Coin Encyclopedia " published in 1899 . These are incredible Numismatic references , that seem to be disregarded with collectors these days.  I wonder how many know who Smith, Crosby or Von Bergen were, not to mention any of their accomplished works . Sad. I would challenge any Y/N to start to build your own Personal Library of Important Numismatic Literature, instead of depending upon the Internet to being your only source of information. The book I mentioned in my thread topic, I'll try once more to see if I can't encourage someone to take advantage of a " RARE " offering . Should anyone from this thread be interested, you may see my listing on EBAY, or contact me directly through my e-mail here.[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches